Sony's Fat Princess Game

Fat Princess: Harmless or Harmful?

Can't video game ladies catch a break? It seems like we're usually bemoaning the aggressively curvy forms of female video game characters, but that's not the case with Sony's new game — quite the opposite.

Fat Princess is causing a stir with the figure of its titular character; yes, she's also quite curvy, but not in a Lara Croft way. The object of the game is to capture the princess, who's being made heavier by her enemies, who are feeding her cake (well, at least they're not trying to say she's just "big-boned").

Have we traded objectification of women's bodies for the mockery of obesity? Is there no middle ground of average-looking bodies in the video game world?

On the other hand, is that too harsh, and is Fat Princess merely cute, as the female concept artist herself thought? Is she merely a character who looks a certain way — and if so, then is it the title that's what's really offensive?

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6 years

What does it matter? The game is basically saying Eat cake = Get fat, eat less cake = don't get fat. It's not saying that women are fat or that women are misshapen. I see plenty of controversy when women are poised in skimpy, skin-tight clothes that show off most of their body, but now people are disliking when they make her fat? Honestly, I think he's cute, and if she's a princess, she can basically afford acai or Nutrisystem.
Women are unique, and if someone is fat, and they like it, let them be fat. But, I'm sure ANYONE would gain weight if they were forced to eat cake 24/7.

6 years

It is true, and most people dont notice that there is a clear prejudice and recuring theme in fiction concerning fat characters, they have to be broken, or just be a villian and that is just wrong. Atleast she is eating cake. over the years i have been looking for fiction, movies and stuff with fat people in them portrayed in a good light and the the truth hurts, i did liked "The hanging garden" as a movie but it is very hard to find. Maybe at amazon? I did came upon a very nice novel called Sodom's x a song for the end by K.R.COLUMBUS nice sci-fi apocaliptic novel with religios overtones. Mind you it has more than 4 fat characters in it and they are all unique including a girl. It can be found here....
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/sodoms-x--a-song-for-the-end-/7182389
Apart from that it is very hard to find anything that isnt self help or just a joke.

I think people are reading way too much into this and making this a whole gender thing and what not. As for the one who said this encourages men to say things like "fat b%&$#..." or anything offensive...I believe either way they would say such things as soon as they find out you're a girl. They do it when women aren't even playing. I dont think this game is the reason to that, its just how they are and nothing will change that or encourage that!

So, I had this long and drawn out post and realized that I was completely overdoing it, so I'm going to break this down to a few points:
1) Overeating to the point of not being able to function, such as the Princess in this game, would be considered an eating disorder which does severe damage to the body, possibly resulting in premature death. Anorexia and Bulimia are also eating disorders.
2) If this were a game about trying to save a girl who is being starved by her captors to the point of appearing malnourished, how many anorexics and bulimics would come out of the woodwork to bring this game down?
3) At what point do we go from supporting the curvy (as we should) to supporting overeating as a disorder? I mean, last I checked, it was distasteful and disgusting to support the eating disorders that lead to malnourishment. So why is it ok to defend those that are literally eating their ways into early graves?

I think that it's fine, and that plenty of people are overreacting. It amuses me, although I probably wouldn't buy it unless it was on sale because I'm cheap (and I'd have to wait until I had the appropriate game system).
It would be different if it was set in modern day, if it wasn't so cartoony, and if it wasn't *a game*.
Ah, well. I'm not offended, and I don't really get why other people are, but to each their own.

@ FinnKelly-
There are plenty of people such as marines and certain athletes who would probably clock in around a size 16 because of their muscle. Different excercise leads to different muscles being built in different ways, so running, jumping, climbing trees (doing your make up while you are up there) characters would be quite thin and lean because they would be stretching the muscles rather than just making them bigger.
And to the people who complain that she jus sits around and eats- The press releases say she is FORCEFED BY THE ENEMIES that you have to rescue her from.
And finally to the people who think the feeding/fat element should be removed- It will be a whole different game! If it was called Rescue the Princess and all you did was try and save her from the bad guys with weapons it wouldnt be anywhere near as innovative as Fat Princess will be. I, for one, am looking forward to something different to the norm.

1. Of course Sony knew this would offend people. It's why they put it out there. People get offended, which equals more publicity, which equals to more interest in the game.
2. Why does the "Fat Princess" have to be about a woman eating cake? Why couldn't they make a video game titled "Fat, Beer-Drinking Men" or "Fat, Donut-Eating Cops?" Women are not the only consumers of cake and are not the only obese sex. Why does being obese seem to only refer to women? I mean how great would it be to see a video game with a cop being force-fed donuts? Or what about a man being made to drink beer and growing fatter? Why do we never see games like that? Oh yeah, it's because the man still rules the world. Gotcha.
3. Why does a video game have to be about someone being fat? Why couldn't a woman have been starved? The video game could have been titled "Starving Princess" or something like that. Being obese is just as great a medical concern as being anorexic or bulimic.

"Considering this game is a ripoff of team fortress 2..."
I understand that this isn't a gaming blog, but CTF didn't start with TF2.
Secondly, people need to ease up about the game. It's a game, that's all it is. A silly, satirical, game. If it were called "Fat Prince" and you fed an overweight prince food to keep the opposing team from being able to capture him no one would have batted an eye. People have such thin skin these days, everything offends someone and everyone gets up in arms so quickly...

Fat people ARE unhealthy, what world are YOU living in? I never said skinny people are healthy, they aren't at risk for nearly as many life threatening diseases and it's much easier to recover from a diet that made you too skinny than a diet that make you obese.
Curious as to what your caloric intake is if you are indeed "exercising" everyday and eating healthily. Vegetarian is not a food intake. You could eat nothing but mac and cheese and ramen and be considered vegetarian.
There is no such thing as "big-boned," it is an excuse people give to justify their unhealthy habits.
Have you played many video games? I'd like an example where video games have attractive, able female characters that can be considered "skinny." I think I've seen one "skinny" character, and it was Alice in Alice and Wonderland, the goth version. She was insane, obviously unhealthy and not portrayed as attractive. Female characters in games are very fit with large muscles, so don't blame video games for the self-esteem issues of women in this country.
You haven't presented any logical information, you've misrepresented what I've said.
"They're many "skinny" people who are more unhealthy than a fat person because of what they eat and can as easily fall down or slown quickly enough as an fat person."
I never said otherwise, but there aren't skinny people represented in video games and if they were and were portrayed as being sickly and unable I very strongly doubt you or anyone else would have a problem with "skinny people being portrayed negatively." It's pathetic, a stupid excuse for people to feel sorry for themselves and defend their unhealthy, unintelligent habits.
"Use someone in plus size starting with a 12 or 16 or even and 18. Let's us show these young people who play these games that yes you can run around, exercise, etc. to be thin but if you have done all that and is still "fat" that it is okay."
Why, so we can encourage children and let them think it's okay for them to eat pizza and icecream? Both too skinny and too fat should be portrayed negatively, neither should be lauded. Don't cheapen your argument by presenting a double standard.

I've met plenty, I do after all, live in America. I'm surrounded by them. I disagree that a size 16 could be fit enough to compete with healthy sized people. A very fit person, regardless of their weight, wouldn't be a size 16.
I don't think weight has much to do with being fat, and I think BMI is useless for anyone who actually exercises and eats accordingly.
Also disagree that Botticelli's women were size 16, they look more 12ish, and you can tell they're muscular.
How can you tell she's healthier than Peach?! :P

A video game called Fat Princess. Well, to all of the people who say that it is only the "fat" people who feels offensive against this game, you are ignorant of life! Video games, magazines, movie stars, etc. all have an effect on young girls. I have not played this game and would not like to. If the enemy is feeding the princess cakes how are you to get her out when you reach her to rescue her? To Finnkelley's comment that fat people are unhealthy, what world are you living in? They're many "skinny" people who are more unhealthy than a fat person because of what they eat and can as easily fall down or slown quickly enough as an fat person. The game should have shown a different kind of character or a different plot with the princess. Fat can be cute and prettty, but why have her sit around doing nothing but eating cake? I agree with Famousmoviestar. Use someone in plus size starting with a 12 or 16 or even and 18. Let's us show these young people who play these games that yes you can run around, exercise, etc. to be thin but if you have done all that and is still "fat" that it is okay. Just keep on exercising and eating healthy. No I do not consider myself fat I actually do consider myself big boned being 5'4 with hands the size of an average mans and size 11 in women. My clothing is an 18 and I do exercise everyday and no weight loss just muscle gain. The food intake? Vegetarean.

finnkelley, that's kind of ignorant.
A fat person pretty much starts at size 16. (xl-xxl) I don't know if you have met many size 16s, (or even played many video games) but they are still very healthy. A size 16 would be akin to "birth of venus" type women. I could totally see her collapsing on herself. yeah. no.
You can tell the character is being ridiculed because of voice chat which is included in more and more games on the ps3. Considering this game is a ripoff of team fortress 2, voice chat is invaluable to the game.
Also, to just make my side clearer, I absoulutely love Lara Croft and pretty much every female video game character. Although, Mass Effect's lead female has some curves they aren't exaggerated and her thighs are huge because she's a marine. She probably would be considering fat with bmi (because it doesn't allow for muscle) but she's healthier than princess peach.
Plus, there have been several instances of fat male characters in video games (usually not the main characters, but are sometimes selectable) and they play slightly slower but usually make up for speed in strength.

It's not harmful, if anything it's beneficial to kids playing it. Eat Cake = Get fat. People take video games much too seriously anyway, mostly women. The self-righteous and self-pitying. How do any of you know the character is being ridiculed? It doesn't look like they're teaching kids to make fun of obesity, use your brains. I can't help but roll my eyes at all of you playing that stupid, "They shouldn't promote making fun of faaaat people..." PLEASE. Pathetic. What would you rather, they promote that being fat is acceptable and one should be proud of their obesity and shortened life-spans?
And seriously, why do people STILL say things like video games promote skinny? They don't, they promote thin as attractive... Aaand it is. The bodies they have in video games look very healthy, very fit and thin but not overly thin or fat. If they added overweight or obese characters to video games and showed them realistically they would be useless characters. We're talking video games people, running around, jumping, climbing... Have you ever seen a fat person be able to do that and have a lasting endurance? Yea, no. So fine, put the fatty in the video game and treat them equally. You don't need to make fun of them or objectify them; All you need to do is demonstrate that the character will run for 20 seconds and collapse on himself. Yea, sounds like such a fun game...

It's not harmful, if anything it's beneficial to kids playing it. Eat Cake = Get fat. People take video games much too seriously anyway, mostly women. The self-righteous and self-pitying. How do any of you know the character is being ridiculed? It doesn't look like they're teaching kids to make fun of obesity, use your brains. I can't help but roll my eyes at all of you playing that stupid, "They shouldn't promote making fun of faaaat people..." PLEASE. Pathetic. What would you rather, they promote that being fat is acceptable and one should be proud of their obesity and shortened life-spans? And seriously, why do people STILL say things like video games promote skinny? They don't, they promote thin as attractive... Aaand it is. The bodies they have in video games look very healthy, very fit and thin but not overly thin or fat. If they added overweight or obese characters to video games and showed them realistically they would be useless characters. We're talking video games people, running around, jumping, climbing... Have you ever seen a fat person be able to do that and have a lasting endurance? Yea, no. So fine, put the fatty in the video game and treat them equally. You don't need to make fun of them or objectify them; All you need to do is demonstrate that the character will run for 20 seconds and collapse on himself. Yea, sounds like such a fun game...

This game is less harmless than video games with half-naked women and huge jugs. I don't understand why women are mad about a fat character, but not upset about the unrealistic bodies some of the other video game heroines have? At least she won't be objectified and feed the fantasies of little boys.

The sole evil of this game is the objectification of someone's body, into sadistic satire - which of course would corroborate more obesity jokes. Whether it is a fat princess or a fat prince, really, it is a game of ridicule.

Harmful, but not because the presence of a plus-sized character is negative--god, there should be a lot more.
My main problem I have is that she is every single stereotype about obese people: a useless burden who just can't say no to food. The fact that this burden is represented by animation of a fat woman--rather than just, say, a boulder or a treasure chest or something--would suggest to imply that this depiction of an overweight woman is included just for the shits and giggles of the kind of guy who plays WoW.

Harmful, but not because the presence of a plus-sized character is negative--god, there should be a lot more.My main problem I have is that she is every single stereotype about obese people: a useless burden who just can't say no to food. The fact that this burden is represented by animation of a fat woman--rather than just, say, a boulder or a treasure chest or something--would suggest to imply that this depiction of an overweight woman is included just for the shits and giggles of the kind of guy who plays WoW.